A very frequent question.
Mathematica, by default, displays approximate numbers to 6 places of
precision. (Internally, they are stored to the machine precision. Any number
with a decimal point is an approximate number.) The purpose of N is to
convert EXACT numbers (like Pi or Sqrt[2]) to approximate numbers so it
doesn't help.
Use NumberForm to display to higher precision.
13505.5 - 244.91
NumberForm[%, 8]
13260.6
13260.59
You could also change the default display precision in the Options
Inspector:
FormattingOptions/Expression Formatting/Display Options/Print Precision.
David Park
djmp at earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/
From: Peng Yu [mailto:yupeng_ at hotmail.com]
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
In[1]:= 13505.5 - 244.91
Out[1]= 13260.6
However,13505.5 - 244.91 = 13260.59. "N" doesn't help, either.
In[25]:= N[13505.50 - 244.91]
Out[25]= 13260.6
But the following command gives the correct answer.
In[26]:= 505.50 - 244.91
Out[26]= 260.59
How can I get the correct last digit? Thanks!